Turkey Feathers and Corn Husks
by BreathlessFaith
Summary: Bosco and Faith get a little help from Rose at Thanksgiving


AUTHOR: BreathLessFaith

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Well I'm a day late, but I doubt anyone will really care. I thought this would be pretty much all fluff. But as often happens when I write they go in a completely different direction. So you get mostly fluff then the sappy stuff towards the end.

I always change things from the show. In this one Rose has a sister, who gets her name from my friend Nan. Nan always helps me with these stories and Rose's sisters name is Nan's mother's name. Thanks to her for her list of Thanksgiving words that prompted this story. I got them all but one eggcreams. I just couldn't work it in.

I know its a terrible title, what can I say. Once I pick one it stays no matter how badly it sucks. LOL

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Turkey Feathers and Corn Husks

"Rose do you really think all this is a good idea?"

I looked up from what I was doing at my sister Peggy's question. She was waving her arms over the top of the dining room table.

"Stop waving your arms Peggy! Your making the turkey feathers fly all over the place."

I leaned over and scooped up the wayward feathers. I straightened back up and saw her still glaring at me, waiting for an answer.

"Yes I still think its a good idea. Maurice needs a wife, a family. He isn't getting any younger you know. He'll be forty before he knows it. While I know he loves Emily and Charlie like his own, even if he'd rather drink a glass of arsenic before he'd admit such a thing. He needs a child of his own, and it might not be easy for him to convince Faith to have one more, at her age."

"From what you've told me about Faith, Rose I wouldn't say that around her." Peggy chastised me, with a giggle she couldn't quite hold back.

"Jez Peggy, Faith isn't old but you know she's not exactly a twenty something either!."Before I knew it I really opened my mouth and put my foot in it..."You know when you're older you can have trouble getting pregnant."

"Is that aimed at Faith's eggs or Maurice's little egg busters?"Peggy asked.

"There is nothing wrong with Maurice's little..." I quickly shut up as the subject of our discussion made his way into my dining room.

"There is nothing wrong with my little what Mom?" Maurice asked as he dropped a grocery bag down into the middle of my turkey feathers sending them flying off the table again.

Well that was it. Peggy burst into laughter and went running for the bathroom.

"What's her problem?" Maurice asked peering over his sunglasses watching his Aunt run down the hallway.

"She's been in the cooking sherry. You know how Peggy just loves to try new recipes."Not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I used the distraction my sister made to my advantage. "Maurice pick up those feathers please. Then take that bag into the kitchen for me. You did remember the cranberry sauce right?"

"Yeah Mom. Two cans of cranberry sauce and six ears of corn. Oh and I got us a bottle of white wine too." He said tossing two handfuls of turkey feathers back on the table.

"I don't understand why you're going to all this trouble for me and you. The last time I saw this many turkey feathers was when..." I watched my son snap his mouth shut at what he'd been about to say. It took me awhile to figure out any time he suddenly snapped his mouth shut in the middle of a sentence it's because he was about to say something about Faith. Any other woman even that Sgt. Cruz, he'd finish what he was saying. Maurice grabbed the bag off the table and headed towards the kitchen.

I shook my head as I watched my son disappear.

"Give me some of those damn feathers Rose." Peggy said sitting down at the table with me, having gotten herself back under control..."You better keep these feather decorations in moth balls. Cause I'm never helping you make them again."

I gave her a grateful smile and handed her a some feathers.

"The boy's got it bad Rose. Why the hell he wont face up to it is beyond me. How a man can walk around that love sick and not doing something about it is just plain nuts."Peggy said as she picked up a needle and thread so she could sew the turkey feathers onto a table runner..."Jez the testosterone flow alone, should make him go kick down her door and sweep her off her feet!"

God knows I love my sister. But she thinks that if every man on the planet read a months worth of her Harlequin Romance novels, that there wouldn't be a woman on earth having fake orgasms.

A few minutes later and Maurice had kissed both Peggy and I on the cheek. Then he headed out the door to go to work.

An hour later Peggy was standing at the ironing board, touching up the white linen napkins I planned on using..."You told me Maurice doesn't know Faith is coming to Thanksgiving dinner, but does Faith know Maurice is going to be here?"

"Well, not exactly." I mumbled. Peggy wiggled her eyebrows at me as she looked at me over her glasses that had dropped down to the end of her nose..."Oh alright." I sighed."Faith maybe under the false impression that Maurice has to work tomorrow. She may also be under the impression that the thought of having no one to eat Thanksgiving dinner with was devastating to me."

Peggy opened her mouth and gasped..."DEVASTATING! MY GOD ROSE WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Don't look at me like that Peggy! It was just a few tears! It's not like I was sobbing!" I got up, looking out the window at the autumn leaves blowing around in my small front yard. "I want to look out this window just once before I die and see my son smiling as he plays with his children in a pile of leaves in my front yard! Is that so much to ask for?"

It horrified me to suddenly find myself sobbing my eyes out on my sisters shoulder as she patted my back and agreed with me. It was Peggy who said...I should send Maurice and Faith into the kitchen to shuck the corn together. It was Peggy who suggested we should go up into the attic and drag out all the Christmas lights. It was Peggy's bright idea to have Maurice and Faith light up the outside of my house.

"Light up the house-Light up their hearts!" Peggy said. Frankly I thought she was pushing it with that little quip but I needed all the help I could get.

"Rose to get all this done you're going to need Maurice and Faith here almost all day. How do you plan on doing that? Doesn't Faith think she's just coming to dinner?" Peggy asked as she put the finishing touches on the Apple Crumb pie she was making.

"I'm meeting Faith tomorrow morning at 9AM on Seventh Avenue. We're going to watch a couple of hours of Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and then come back here. Then I'm going to give the performance of my life, pretending I forgot Maurice didn't have to work." I stood their patiently looking at my sister waiting for her to say something, as she slid the pie into the oven.

"Well? Say something Peggy!"

She gently closed the oven door and turned to look at me..."I know you wont believe this Rose. But for once in my life I have absolutely nothing to say. Not a single thing!"

Then she grabbed her coat, kissed me on the cheek and ran out the door.

Thanksgiving Day

Faith was ready to scream as she pushed her way through the crowd. What was wrong with her? Telling Rose she'd love to watch the parade with her, here on Seventh avenue instead of the comfort of her own living room..."Excuse me!" she said again. Faith almost bit a hole in her tongue trying to control her temper. She kept telling herself that pulling out her gun and clearing a path really wasn't an option. God knows if she'd been dumb enough to try to drive her car through all that heavy traffic, instead of using the train holiday schedule...well lets just say she would have had to reload by the time she'd made it here.

Two hours later...

"Faith lets get out of here, while the rest of these people are still watching." I said..."I don't know about you but I'm about to freeze my butt off."

Faith starred at me for a minute and then she laughed..."Oh Rose. I never realized before exactly how much Bosco is like you. I can't even tell you how many times over the years I heard him say that same thing. Lets go." She said linking her arm with mine, pulling me behind her as she pushed a path through the crowd.

"Well that was a smart move on our part leaving early. The train ride wasn't bad at all." I said to Faith as I unlocked my front door. Stepping in I looked at the clock in the small entryway. I had fifteen minutes before Maurice showed up. Well it wasn't much time but I sucked in my breath, telling myself I could show surprise at his appearance. After all a woman my age it wouldn't be any surprise for small things to slip my mind.

I took my things off, hung them up and then reached for Faith's. Then I watched as she made her way to the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later while I had the oven door open, Faith had just slid the turkey in when we heard the front door slam. Before I even knew it was happening Faith was pushing me behind her. The oven door slammed shut as Faith was reaching into her bag. I realized she was about to grab her gun, when..."HEY MA IT'S ME! YOU IN THE KITCHEN?"

Faith pulled her hand back, just as Maurice came into the kitchen. It wasn't much of a stretch to feign a look of surprise afterall. I'd been pretty surprised a second ago to realize Faith was about to shoot my son, in order to defend us from an uninvited intruder.

The only one who looked more surprised was Maurice. He looked at Faith like he'd never seen her before and then he looked at me. Then he looked back at Faith, then back at me. Somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear Peggy laughing hysterically, because nothing was going as I planned. Well that made me finally open my mouth.

"Maurice, I thought you had to work today?" I tried to go for completely innocent, but since I haven't been that since I was 16, I don't think I pulled it off too well. That was when both Maurice and Faith looked at me like they didn't know who the hell I was.

You know how in times of peril you get that fight or flight idea into your head? Well I chose flight. I picked up the unshucked bowl of corn on the cob. Pushed it at Maurice and said."Here you two shuck this corn, while I run to the bathroom." Laugh all you want but it was the best I could do on the spur of the moment. Then I ran like the hounds of hell were on my heels out of that kitchen and up the stairs to my bedroom. I stared at the now empty doorway that my mother had just rushed through, leaving me standing here with a severe case of brain freeze.

Grabbing the bowl of corn from my hands, Faith set it back down on the table. Then she walked over to the trash can, took the lid off and pulled it over to the table. All I could do was look at her and then back at the doorway that my mother had just fled through like an escaped felon.

"That woman is up to something Bosco!" Faith declared as she slapped an ear of corn onto my chest. I pulled my eyes back to her. Faith gave another push of her hand, I realized that was my cue to take hold of the corn she had slapped up against me.

I took the corn and was surprised at the jolt I felt as my fingers grazed hers and my brain started to unfreeze at rapid pace. I opened my mouth to say something but was abruptly cut off with..."Not a single word Bosco. Don't even think of trying to say anything!"

I may not have been Faith's partner for a couple of years now, but my natural instincts kicked in and I snapped my mouth shut. Whenever she uses that tone of voice, even the biggest perps we ever nabbed, knew enough to shut up.

It turned out to be worse than I thought. Faith started muttering as corn husks flew into the trash can between us. Hell I never even got a chance to unhusk the one ear of corn she gave me. Seemed like only seconds and she was yanking it out of my hands and shucking it clean. When I looked down into the bowl the six ears of corn were perfectly cleaned. Not a single piece of silk was on any of them. Course considering the fire coming from Faith's nostrils, I don't think it would have dared to cling to the corn. I didn't even want to think what it would be like at the table with her eating one of them if she hasn't calmed down by then. Then it occurred to me that ears of corn were missile shaped. No way I'm sitting across from her, if she's armed with corn ear missiles. Faith is a great shot and I left my vest at work.

The next thing I know, as I'm picturing flying corn ears, Faith is grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the kitchen.

"Oh Maurice, Faith I was just about to call the two of you." I said still trying to maintain an air of innocence that there was any kind of a problem. So long as I ignored the fire coming from Faith's nostrils, and the death grip she had on Maurice's arm, I might just be able to make it.

"Look Peggy and I got all the Christmas decorations out of the attic yesterday. Would you two be dears and put these lights up on the house." I finally had to look them in the face, and was about to say, when Faith finally stopped shooting flames and while I must say she showed a great deal of control there was no missing the anger when she said to me..."Rose I thought you told me that MAURICE..." I'm not too sure I care for the way she just said Maurice, but now isn't the time to argue about it..."had to work today?"

I looked at my son and said..."I could have sworn you said you had to work today Maurice." Okay it may not be the nicest thing a mother should do to turn the blame on her son. But my Maurice is a big tough NYC police officer, he can take it.

He stood there not staring at me but at Faith's hand on his arm. "Maurice.." I prodded him wondering if maybe the strain hadn't made him snap.

He looked up at me and apparently he'd been looking through some kind of a fog because his eyes cleared up and he glared at me..."No Mom, I didn't say I had to work today. I said I had to work on Black Friday. Maybe we should get your hearing checked? It starts going when a person reaches your age doesn't it?"

Before I could fess up that my son had caught me in a some what tricky deception. Faith interrupted. "Bosco don't talk to your mother like that! It's a good thing she did slip up. I don't even want to think about her outside on a ladder trying to hang up all these lights around the house. You're putting up these lights. Now go find a ladder while your mother fills me in on how she wants the house to look."

I watched amazed as Maurice's mouth snapped shut at any comment he was about to make and I'd swear for just a moment I saw fear in his eyes. He looked from Faith to me and back to Faith before he shrugged his shoulders in compliance, walking out of the living room, then out of the house. He did manage to slam the door though.

I turned back to Faith and found her appraising me like a perp. I suddenly knew what hundreds of others must have felt like when she laid her policeman's gaze on me. For the first time, I truly believed it when for years Maurice has told me..."You don't have to worry Ma, Faith always has my back just like I have hers."

"You know Rose I haven't been a cop all these years not to learn when someone is bullshitting me! I don't know exactly what it is your up to, but I suspect it has something to do with making your son happy. I'm not sure why you think I can help you with that. Bosco and I...well we haven't been us in a really long time. I'm mostly to blame for that. He asked for my help and I refused. Then I kept doubting him. Because of that he's refused to give me a chance to explain myself. I assure you I have a lot of explaining to do. There are a lot of things I haven't told him, because I thought I was protecting him. What I was really doing was not facing up to my own mistakes and fears.

While I'm sure your reasons for inviting me here today didn't quite turn out the way you wanted. I want you to know that I'm very thankful you've given me a chance to make things right with Bosco. I've never decorated a whole house before. I'm thinking thats going to take quite awhile to do. " Faith's confession stunned me. I had just assumed the problem between the two was her promotions and my sons preconceived ideas that Faith had some how moved on without him. I'd believed Maurice thought, Faith sought out that promotion, when nothing could be further from the truth.

He had no idea how devastated Faith had been while he was in a coma. No idea how she had struggled over tak ing the promotion while he laid there fighting for his life.

While I had voiced my own emotional state to him, when he was up to dealing with it. Maurice and Faith had obviously not dealt with hers. I was now quite sure they had never once spoken about the day of Michael's funeral and the days that followed. While I knew for certain Faith loved him. It was something she simply couldn't hide while he was in a coma, I was just as sure Maurice never suspected that Faith was in love with him. I know that Faith hasn't the slightest hint that Maurice is in love with her. I thought they just needed to see each other in a different light away from their job that takes up so much of their life. Now as she hugged me, I realized the problem was much deeper. I prayed with all my heart that my stubborn son would listen to her.

Decorating the House

Not that I would let my mother or Faith know it, but I really was having a good time letting them tell me how to hang the lights around the front of the house. Honestly I didn't think either of them would ever really smile and laugh again. If letting them boss me around could do that, well, I'd let them boss me till the cows came home. It took me almost all of the first hour before I let myself accept the fact I was glad, for whatever reason she had, that my mother invited Faith to spend the day with us. This Faith I've been watching for the last two hours, shows serious signs of being the friend I've been sure I'd lost forever. This woman I could easily admit I'm in love with.

I reached down to take another string of lights and saw my mother heading into the house.

Following my gaze Faith said..."She went to check on the turkey. This is the last one." She said passing the lights up to me. It only took me a couple of minutes to attach them. Then I got down and watched Faith break down the cardboard boxes.

"She's not keeping the boxes they came in?" I asked lowering the ladder.

"No. She said to put them in the trash out back. She's going to get some plastic storage boxes to keep them in. Besides they're a bitch to put back in the original box." I nodded my head in agreement with her and watched her add the last box to her pile. Faith bent over to pick up her crushed boxes and I had all I could do to not moan out loud.

The one thing I've had a hell of a time keeping to myself is seeing Faith in street clothes. The uniform most of the time kept my mind at bay, that underneath Faith is a damn good looking woman.

For years Faith has thought I liked going ahead of her as some kind of macho man over protective act. It really has a whole lot more to do with how she looks from behind. That wedding ring she used to wear helped a lot too. Now there is no ring and the only thing really standing in my way is my own stubborness to forgive her fears about my safety. I know my eye sight problems drove her nuts. I know asking her to shoot for me was wrong.

She'd probably be thrilled to know a simple contact lens solved the problem. But I'll go to my grave before I tell her I mostly need the contact because like it or not I've simpley gotten older and my embarrassment that shooting really is a practice makes perfect skill. When I'd asked her to shoot for me, I refused to acknowledge the fact my whole body had been through one hell of a lot of trauma. The one thing I didn't think I'd have to work at, that it would just naturally come right back, hadn't.

"I can still grab an end of the ladder if you need help with that Bos." I slowly brought my gaze up to look her in the eyes. I gotta say I wasn't the least bit disappointed to see her face had a nice pink glow to it. Maybe just maybe I put it there not the cold November breeze we'd been standing in for two hours.

"I got it. You go first I don't want to hit you by accident." Okay I wasn't really worried about hitting her with the ladder, but it gave me a great excuse to watch her walk in front of me.

I had just set the ladder back where I got it from when I finally learned just how much Faith loved me..."He was handcuffed Bos. Cruz she already had him in cuffs...God forgive me but he deserved every single bullet I put in him. That's what I told CT Finney. He shot my partner and for that I became his judge,his jury, and his executioner."

I turned around to face her. While I'd always known Faith had shot that bastard and used my gun to do it. I'd never questioned the why. I took the story she and Cruz had used and never let me myself wonder about all the holes in it.

"In that moment Bos, I swore if by some miracle those doctors got your heart going again. That I'd never feel your blood on my hands again. I'd never taste your blood on my lips again. That I would do everything in my power to make sure I never had to breathe for you again. It wasn't so much doubt that you couldn't take care of yourself when you asked me to shoot for you. It was terror at the thought a bullet would find its way into your body again. It's the fear that you would leave me on this earth alone.

Today your mother gave me a chance to realize that instead of feeling fearful, I need to be grateful that your still here with me. Even if you hate me, for what I did."

Three years later...

I've never asked Maurice or Fa ith what they talked about that Thanksgiving Day three years ago. I know they never saw me standing at the kitchen window watching them. Maurice's face that afternoon showed a lot of emotions on it. Surprise to shock and disbelief. At last the two most important in the world. Forgiveness and love.

I cried almost as hard as the two of them did and I couldn't hear a word of it. I knew the moment he grabbed Faith, pulled her against him and finally kissed her. This was the last woman my son was ever going to kiss. He finally found his heart.

"Well Rose you got your wish. You got to see your son play with his children in your front yard." My sister Peggy said as she came to stand next me.

Out in the front yard my son was playing with his children. Faith is filming their 2 year old twins, David Michael and Hope Rose as they chase their father around in a small circle. Maurice stops and whispers something to the twins. Suddenly the three turn and rush at Faith. Causing her to jump for a moment then she sets the camera down.

Peggy and I laugh as Faith pretends to try to run away from them. Maurice grabs her around the waist spinning in a circle till they fall on the ground laughing.

That's the thing I'm most thankful for this year. My son's laughter and the love I've seen every day on his face since that Thanksgiving I decided to ask Faith to dinner.

THE END 


End file.
